NASHVILLE – When the COVID-19 outbreak suddenly spread across the country and forced collegiate athletics to shut down, it left many student-athletes searching for some type of structure and familiarity in their daily routines.
The sudden change of lifestyle forced athletic departments, including Lipscomb, to adapt their way of thinking. Not having some of the resources and advantages of Power 5 programs at their disposal, the Bisons strength and conditioning staff chose to improvise, adapt and overcome.
Led by head strength coach John Hudy and his assistants Sean Johnson and Trey Kilgore, the group has creatively developed a presence on social media that includes multiple videos, photos, infographics, and interviews each week to help stay connected with our athletes. Their content is published on Instagram and YouTube for anyone wanting to participate.
"The idea is to keep the athletes in a routine that will not only help them physically, but also mentally," Hudy said. "The end goal is that they will be back playing at some point, so we want them to do what needs to be done and come back ready to go. It's one of those things we know we don't have control, so we send it out and give them as much encouragement as possible,"
"In a normal year the student-athletes get 1-2 months on their own at home after the season and during the summer, but now we are looking at a minimum of 5-6 months, depending on when we are able to get back to campus. So it's trusting them to be able to execute what they're given and find a place to run, or find a place to do push-ups and sit-ups."
The content primarily directs its focus around workouts and exercise programs that are purely voluntary as NCAA rules prohibit virtual coaching, supervision and reporting of results. Athletes are, however, allowed to reach out to their program's strength and conditioning staff with questions or for suggestions. But in the end, it's up to the athlete to follow through.
"There is no live interaction with the athletes, that's not allowable," Hudy said. "We're not allowed to monitor workouts via FaceTime or Zoom and can't we have them report back and say I did this much, or these many reps. We can give them a plan to maximize the opportunity, but it's up to them to follow through.
"Athletes are driven in everyday life, so we expect them to work towards their goal of being a good player, a good teammate and a good team."
Some players have weight rooms in their homes or access to gyms elsewhere, while others have far more limited resources. That's made the job tougher for Hudy and the rest of his staff, but they take what players have and devise a plan with a variety of different suggestions to maximize it.
For example, some have had to create makeshift equipment ranging from broomsticks and the backs of chairs for pull-ups to filling backpacks and empty bottles with rocks for weight training.
"It's easy to just look around and see what's available to create a workout," Kilgore said. "We can't load and treat the body the same way as before, so grab some household items to use as a dumbbell or a bar."
Men's basketball junior Parker Hazen and freshman golfer A. Jacks Green went the old school route with a sledgehammer and a tire to help develop explosive power and strength.
"From a holistic development, having a resource for the athletes to connect to is huge," Kilgore said. "When you fall out of routine everything gets out of sync. So what we've done is not only provide that routine, but we also give them an opportunity to stay in shape.
"The Lipscomb community is so special and we wanted to give back. We want to be a helpful resource of information and encouragement, especially during quarantine."
The department has also provided resistance bands to teams who would normally be on campus working out over the summer.
For the time being, it's all about Lipscomb athletes, alumni and fans finding creative ways to exercise and condition, while also trying to have fun. But when we get on the other side of this pandemic and we all finally return to some sense of normalcy, the Bisons will be in shape and ready to compete for more championships in 2020-21.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Lennie Acuff – Men's Basketball Head Coach
"We are not only waiting for all of this to be over, we are preparing for when it does end. We are thankful to our nutritional staff and strength/conditioning staff who have continued to provide opportunities for our players to improve. We know we can't be the same individually or as a team when we get back together. We have to be ready to compete."
Brandon Rosenthal – Volleyball Head Coach
"College athletics as a whole has taken a drastic turn and while we are unsure of what is to come in the future, this time allows us to give our fans the insight that we have never had the time to pull back the curtain on. What makes college athletics so intriguing to many are the back stories of individuals or teams. The true heart of college athletics is what it takes to get to this point that not many of us ever get chance to experience firsthand, so we live these amazing stories vicariously through the connection we have with college athletes.
This is an amazing time where we can tell the whole story and not just a game recap. We get a chance to remind everyone where these athletes are from and why they are here. We get to experience the behind the scene tour of a college athletic department and see the many heroes that make an individual athletic department happen. I am so glad that I am with a department that not only wants to tell this story, but wants to do it in a way that is creative and is focused on meaningful content."
